The NYC Metro offers alternatives to pay less.
Photo: Mariela Lombard / El Diario NY
Three days after the tragic death of Christopher De La Cruz when he fell trying to enter the New York Subway without paying, her family is still trying to process the unusual news.
De La Cruz (28) was declared dead after falling off trying to jump the turnstile at Forest Hills-71st Av station in Queens around 6:45 am on Sunday. Crashed on his head and broke his necksaid the police. He left a 4-year-old orphaned son.
“For us, the impact (still) is really here”, said to Daily News his brother Brian, while the family planned the funeral. “There are never really words to describe the loss, especially like his brother. There is no one to replace him or his love for his son. It really seemed like things were looking up and unfortunately this happened. “
Police said De La Cruz i was drinking before your repeated attempts enter the station without having to pay $ 2.75 dollars they ended in tragedy. He was apparently en route to work.
One dramatic surveillance video caught him carrying a backpack trying to jump over a turnstile several times after entering the station, but initially he slips and appears to drop his phone. Then backtrack briefly before repeatedly try to jump another tourniquet. On the last attempt, De La Cruz can be seen getting up, but losing his balance, flipping the spinning bar, and fatally falling.
Brian De La Cruz created a GoFundMe page to raise money for his brother’s funeral and create a college fund for his nephew, which at the moment has already exceeded $ 17,000 dollars.
“If there was something in this world that my brother wanted to be remembered for, it was because of the love he felt for his son… what the world meant to him ”, Brian wrote. “Anyone who has ever talked to Chris, even for a brief moment, has probably seen my nephew’s face or heard about my brother’s love for him.”
“There is no one to replace him or his love for his son. It really seemed like things were looking up and unfortunately this happened. “
Brian de la cruz
An autopsy performed by the medical examiner The city government determined that the accidental death was caused by a forceful impact to the head and neck. De La Cruz was found unconscious around 6:45 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene.
More and more New Yorkers enter the Metro without paying, some for not having money and others for simple vandalism. The “toll” collectors have also appeared: people who open the emergency doors of the stations to let others pass in exchange for a Cash “collaboration”.
Ironically, very few use the city’s “Fair Fares” program for low-income New Yorkers to pay half the fare in public transport, the same that applies to students, people with disabilities and people over 65 years of age.
Income requirements are based on federal poverty levels and consider pay stubs, tax returns, or information from other programs, like unemployment benefits or food. Check eligibility for the program here.
eldiariony.com
Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.